The Beasts Pledge Manager is now live!

Hello friends!

We received notification that our cargo ship, the CMA CGM DALILA, is scheduled to reach the Houston, TX docks on November 10th. We are hopeful it clears customs quickly to be delivered by mid-month, so we may begin shipping out your rewards before the holiday.

As of this morning, GameFound approved our pledge manager to go live. You should receive an email invitation soon, if not already. We ask that you please use the pledge manager to confirm your shipping address, rewards, and purchase any add-on items by November 15.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me here or through the pledge manager. I want this to go as smooth as possible for everyone!

For those of you who did not get pledge to the original campaign, you can still order a copy of Beasts: Edge of Extinction by following this link:

https://gamefound.com/projects/derek-zyn/beasts#/

All the best,

Derek Zyn

Beasts Final Production Sample

At 9:30 AM Friday morning I received a package via FedEx. It was the final production sample of Beasts: Edge of Extinction from our printing partner Whatz Games in China. All I can say is WOW! My phone camera really can’t do it justice, but here’s an attempt anyway:

I’m really excited for each of you to receive this game. We appear to be keeping on track for our October through November estimated delivery schedule. China is celebrating a holiday right now, but production should start back up in a few days. Once they do, I’m told it should take about 15 more days to wrap up production and deliver them to the docks in Shanghai. From there we will hope Poseidon keeps a watchful eye on our shipment as it traverses the great wide ocean.

I honestly don’t expect any trouble with customs, but there is an unknown amount of time before it can be cleared and transported by truck to our storage facility. I’ll be sure to keep each of you up to date as things transpire.

Thanks again for being a supporter. We’re in the final stretch!

– Derek Zyn

Lots of updates!

Hello backers! It’s been a busy few months working to bring Beasts to your tables across the globe. I know many of you are eager for some updates, so here’s quite a few! 

Print & Play Release

To start, the Print & Play version is ready for backers to download! Just look for the link ink your inbox!

We welcome feedback on the P&P and are happy to provide updates if anything is found to be amiss. Due to the nature of health tracking in this game by using a plastic clip, we have included a second form of health tracking more suitable for printing.

Art Updates

While the artwork we showed for the campaign was already pretty great, we have since realized there were still a lot of needed adjustments for the best possible print quality. Many of the images you’ve previously seen have now been enhances for more vibrant color, clearer detail, and an overall better game experience. Mixed with the upgraded linen finish and UV coating, these cards are really going to pop!

We also realized that the double sided sheet of paper being provided for the instructions was too easily damaged over the course of only light use. I’m very big on quality and providing lasting components. Because of this, we’ve upgraded to a 16 page, full color, aqueous instruction booklet you can preview here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LNUFX52VKYMRYkfAWnSBPazNzWQhPVAT

We also did a complete redesign of the box art to show off more of the amazing characters that Alisha Volkman has drawn. We feel it has more shelf appeal and excitement than the demo box we used in the campaign. Have a look at the mock-up:

 Of course, after all these updates, my original assessment of June/July fulfillment is not possible and I truly apologize for the delay. This is my first campaign and I really want to make sure what you receive is the absolute best possible product. Doing so has unfortunately taken more time than I accounted for, but once I have a definitive ship date I will be sure to share it with all of you. Until then, I will be sure to keep each of you updated on any new information as it becomes available.

I’m extremely grateful for each of you who have been so amazingly supportive and patient as we make sure everything in this game is “just right”. Thank you all so very much!

Production

Through all of the artwork updates, I’ve been negotiating with over a dozen different printers to ensure we select one who could represent this game with the highest quality standards, as well as keep the same cut size we use for the promo cards we’ve given out at conventions. This has been a more daunting task than I ever realized and I’ve learned a lot from the process. Every company seems to use a slightly different card cut to make them unique. This really makes it difficult to shop around when you have many future expansions planned and do not want to be locked into one company. After careful evaluation we have selected Whatz Games in Shanghai, China to print the game. 

My only prior experience has been with US based company The Game Crafter, but dealing with Aaron and his team at Whatz has been going really well. They have very specific standards for artwork, which lead to some of the previously stated realizations and needed updates. We still plan to continue to use The Game Crafter in the future for promo cards, replacement health clips and possible short run addons and expansions, but Whatz Games will be printing this flagship and I couldn’t be happier with them, so far.

Custom Dice

Using Whatz has opened up a door for us to customize our dice to exact pantones, instead of just ordering pre-made dice in standard colors. This is a fantastic option since a few of our character’s colors are definitely non-standard.

Pledge Manager

We are diligently working with the team over at GameFound to provide a quality pledge manager for Beasts. We are still learning the system, but we think it will definitely work in the favor of our backers. Hate pledge managers? Don’t worry, we will still send out the Kickstarter survey form. The benefits of a pledge manager is if you decide you’d like to add another copy of the game or upgrade to a higher pledge level, you can! The Kickstarter survey doesn’t give you this type of flexibility, but is great for those of you who are already happy with their current pledge.

Addon items that will be available in GameFound:

  • Pledge level upgrade
  • Additional game copy
  • Premium T-Shirt
  • Event and Resource Play-mat

Expansion Concept Playtesting

We are giving each of you access to the demo Print & Play of the first expansion concept we are playtesting, entitled Revenge of the Dodos. In 3+ player games, eliminated players take control of a special revenge deck they can use to cause havoc for the remaining beast players. Each card depicts a special dodo with unique abilities and fun artwork. 

Your goal is to eliminate all of the remaining beast players. Sound easy? Guess again! The final 2 beast players must be eliminated simultaneously for the revenge deck player(s) to be victorious. This can add an element of co-op in 4+ games as each of the revenge players keep their cards hidden from beast players, but can share and strategize with each other to determine the best path to victory.

We are having a fun time with this expansion concept and we think you will too. We’d also really appreciate any feedback you can provide about your experiences with it.

Look for the Revenge of the Dodos demo expansion concept in your inbox soon!

That is all for now, again I truly apologize for the delay but I’m very excited for all the changes and upgrades we have coming for this game. A backer recently told me they’d rather wait for quality than receive sub-par quickly. I also have a few projects I’ve backed that I’m eagerly awaiting, so I definitely understand the excitement as well as the patience it takes to support a project like this. I truly feel blessed. 

Hopefully these print & play files help curb the edge for a little while! 😉

Until next time,

Derek Zyn

Happy New Year!

Well, we did it! Beasts was successfully funded on Kickstarter on Dec 14 and the funds were finally transferred yesterday to begin the journey of production . I can’t thank each and every one of you enough for your help and support in making this a reality.

So whats next?

To start, Beasts is now on the Indiegogo’s InDemand platform to allow those who missed the original Kickstarter to still get in on the fun, minus the Kickstarter exclusives. But don’t worry, we’re still working towards stretch goals until mid-February – or until our manufacturer gives us a hard cutoff date – so even if you are already a backer you can still share this project in hopes of unlocking some cool upgrades!

You can use the original Kickstarter link to access the Indiegogo page by clicking on the PRE-ORDER NOW button, or you can go directly to Indiegogo via this link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/beasts–4

I’ll be running a contest soon to help promote the Indiegogo page, so keep an eye to your email for details. I’ve been asked a few times if backers are eligible to win contests and the answer is definitely yes, so make sure to enter!

The Print & Play version of the game will unfortunately be delayed, due to changes needed for proper health tracking. The physical game requires plastic health clips that slide along the side of your character card, but doing this with paper doesn’t work very well. To resolve this, I’m creating special health cards for the P&P version. I’ll be adding the Argentavis character with Scavenge ability to the P&P version to help make up for the delay.

That’s it for now. Thank you all again and keep checking back for future updates!

Happy New Year!

Derek Zyn

Beasts @ Board Game Geek Con – Nov 14-18

Hi all and Happy Halloween!

First, our How-to-Play video has been completed and ready for your viewing pleasure!

Thanks again to Baker Odom over at Bored Online? Board Offline! for providing this.

In case you didn’t know, we will be at Board Game Geek Con this November 14-18 working with the Indie Game Alliance in booth IL-04. Stop by for some fun Beasts swag and enter our drawing to win pre-release copies of the game and even a 6″ 3D printed dodo!

Every attendee at BGG.Con will receive an exclusive Argentavis character card, not included in the base game.

Not attending BGG.Con but still want to win a pre-release copy of Beasts: Edge of Extinction? Of course you do! In the next few days I will be posting on social media about how you can enter to win.

That’s all for now. Don’t forget, November 14 is our Kickstarter launch. We will be doing some live streams from BGG.Con so stay tuned here on the website or on social media for updates.

Until next time, keep gaming!

– Derek Zyn

This message has been Dodo Approved!

Beasts Previews and Where to See Them

Hello everyone! Derek here, back again with another Beasts: Edge of Extinction blog post. I bet you thought I was going to be posting one of these every day since my first two were back to back. I sure fooled you! Truth is, if I were to write one of these every single day I would be setting myself back quite a bit on time, but I do want to keep you all updated on how things are progressing so expect a new post every 1 to 3 weeks, unless something very exciting happens and I can’t wait to share!

On to the important stuff…

Preview game copies: Baker Odom of Bored Online? Board Offline! and Jonathan Hill aka Illusion of The Geekly Grind both received their preview copies of Beasts: Edge of Extinction in the mail yesterday. Joseph Nicholas of Indie Table Top should be receiving his copy any day now. I’m very excited to hear what these experienced reviewers think and I’m sure we’ll be finding out soon when their unbiased reviews hit the interwebs. Lets all keep our fingers crossed for some positive reviews to help our Kickstarter – launching November 14th – pick up some steam.

Today, Brian Fiore over at Just Got Played reached out about doing a game review. I’ve seen a few of their episodes on YouTube and I’m pleased my game will be included in mid November. I also heard from Will Meadows at Tatrum House who suggested I submit information on the game to them to potentially be selected for a review. I love the quality of video they produce so I’m keeping my fingers crossed they are able and willing to fit my game in. Either way, I’ll be sponsoring one of their podcasts soon, so the word will definitely be getting out about Beasts: Edge of Extinction.

As more reviewers sign on board I’ll be sure to let each and every one of you know. Until then, don’t forget to check out the YouTube channels of all the great previously mentioned folks!

Bored Online? Board Offline!

The Geekly Grind

Indie Table Top

Just Got Played

Tantrum House

Bored Online? Board Offline!

Greetings and salutations! Derek here with the second update to the Beasts: Edge of Extinction Developers Blog.

How to Play Video:

Baker Odom of Bored Online? Board Offline! has graciously offered to provide a how to play video for Beasts. Of course, I happily accepted and expressed my gratitude. Baker seems like a really genuine guy and I’m excited to see his take on the game. I’m told it should be ready by October 14th (or earlier) so if you have not yet experience Beasts in person, Baker will give you an in-depth look at how the base game scenario, Edge of Extinction, plays out. If you’ve never seen Bored Online? Board Offline! now is a great time to…once you’ve finished reading this blog post, of course.

Where You Can Play:

Beasts: Edge of Extinction will be available to play at 2 up coming game conventions so far.

In the south, you will be able to find Beasts in the Board Game Geek Con library from November 14-18.

In the north, Beasts’ amazing artist Alisha Volkman will have a copy of the game on hand at Crafter Con / Protospiel Madison November 29 through December 2, where she will also be a guest speaker. Alisha is a highly experienced talent of the game development industry, putting ink to well over 30 games currently on the market. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to check her out!

That’s all for now. Until next time…game on!

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to the very first Developers Blog for Beasts: Edge of Extinction, coming to Kickstarter on November 14, 2018.

As some of you might already know, Beasts: Edge of Extinction is my first game release under the Riftway Games moniker. Being a first time game developer, I had a lot of obvious challenges ahead of me when I started this journey in early 2017.  Thankfully my previous experience in marketing, sales, product development and customer service have given me at least the basic tools needed to get started. I like to believe the last 2 decades of my life have been leading up to this very moment.

Where we’re at:

Currently Beasts is in its final stages of pre-production. Only minor changes to wording, for the sake of clarity, are being performed on the game cards and a few adjustments to the artwork is being made by the extremely talented Alisha Volkman. Instructions are also being finely tuned for your pleasure. If anyone is interested in reviewing the instructions and providing feedback, email me and I’ll be more than happy to share them.

Reviews: 

Next month preview copies of the game will be shipped to online game reviewers who have agreed to give their honest opinion of the game. I’m both excited and terrified of this. We’ve had a really positive response from game-testers over the last year and a half, but these guys and gals review games for a living! Who knows what they’ll think, but I can’t wait to find out!

That’s it for now. Thank you for reading and I look forward to sharing this experience with you!

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